The bad timing that passed Sainz “for a fool” in Miami

Ninth of the Miami Grand Prix when he qualified sixth and in front of his teammate, Carlos Sainz left Florida with a little frustration. first of all because the start of the race did not go as expected at all, then because a disagreement in the radio instructions cost him his place against Alexander Albon. His day could also have ended very badly when he launched a desperate attack on Lewis Hamilton in the last turn.

Asked about this lively Sunday, the Spanish pilot underlined the enormous impact of the first laps which finally cost him dearly.

“First of all, because of operational errors during the weekend, we were forced to start with tires used in qualifying, while all those around me were in new tires”he deplores. “I already knew that it was going to put us in difficulty, with a few tenths lost per turn in the first relay. I obviously tried everything to hold in the first relay.”

“I suffered damage at the start with Alex, then he made a mistake and I managed to iron it. Then, the team told us that we were going to freeze the positions, then I don’t know if he received the message or not, but basically he re-sponsored me.”

This is where the rub for Carlos Sainz, who had the feeling of “Pass for a fool” Because of this episode, which will require obvious internal discussions to prevent it from happening again.

“What bothers me is that if I am told on the radio that I will not be attacked, then we attack together so as not to be overtaken”he insists. “But you feel silly, helpless, because you play the right guy, like in Djeddah, and in the end you get doubled and you pass for a fool. But it’s like that. We will talk about it, I am sure that we will come out stronger as a team and that we will go ahead.”

Alexander Albon assures him, it was a bad timing in the radio exchanges that caused this situation. The Thais, who finished fifth in the Grand Prix, said he launched his maneuver when Carlos Sainz received the instructions.

“He was probably receiving this right message when I exceeded it”he pleads. “So I think that if we had stayed together a little longer, I would have received the instructions. But at that time, we were still free to fight. I think it’s just a gap in the messages between the two cars.”

“That said, we really had a good rhythm on my side of the garage. I struggled a little in the first laps. I thought I had damage after the incident of turn 3, so I was careful and I had a few alerts on the rear train. I think it came out of my concentration a little. But once in the racing pace, we were really fast.”